Method of controlling a plurality of internal antennas in a mobile communication device

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a mobile communication device comprises a first antenna; a second antenna; a transceiver for processing a received signal and generating a transmit signal; and a controller, based on a detected condition of one of the first antenna or second antenna, for selecting the other one of said first antenna or said second antenna and coupling the transmit signal to the selected other one of said first antenna or said second antenna.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This nonprovisional application is a continuation application claimingthe benefit of the following prior United States patent applicationentitled: “METHOD OF CONTROLLING A PLURALITY OF INTERNAL ANTENNAS IN AMOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE”, filed Oct. 22, 2009, application Ser. No.12/604,125 , which claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/252,319, filed Oct. 17, 2005, now issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,627,296,which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.60/619,848 filed on Oct. 18, 2004 and is a Continuation-in-Part of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/067,935 filed on Feb. 28, 2005. Each ofthe foregoing patent applications is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to the field of antennas for handhelddevices and more particularly to the optimization of a set of two ormore antennas in a mobile communications device.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Mobile communication devices commonly use internal, rather thanexternal, antennae for wireless communication. The reception andtransmission quality of an internal antenna in a mobile communicationdevice can be affected by the environment surrounding the device. Forexample, antenna performance can be negatively affected when a user'shand or other object covers or blocks all or part of the antenna.Accordingly, an internal antenna is often designed to compromise betweentwo or more environments likely to be encountered in use, rather thanbeing optimized for any one particular environment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described by way ofexample with reference to attached figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating pertinent components of a mobilecommunications device communicating within a wireless communicationnetwork according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a more detailed diagram of an embodiment of the mobilecommunication device of FIG. 1 according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a mobile communication device incorporating a dualantenna array and diversity controller according to one embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a dual antenna array and dual sensor array accordingto one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a dual antenna layout according to one embodiment ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 6A illustrates a mobile communications device being held in a righthand;

FIG. 6B illustrates a mobile communications device being held in a lefthand;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method for selecting an antennaaccording to one embodiment;

FIG. 8A illustrates a flowchart of a method for optimizing antenna usageaccording to one embodiment;

FIG. 8B illustrates a flowchart of a method for optimizing antenna usageaccording to one embodiment; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method for optimizing antennaselection according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

By using multiple antennas in a diversity arrangement, a mobilecommunication device is operable to automatically optimize the bestantenna or antenna combination in reaction to the device's immediateenvironment. The individual antenna designs can be optimized to providehigh antenna system efficiency for a number of likely deviceenvironments.

According to a first aspect, the present disclosure relates to a mobilecommunication device comprises a first antenna; a second antenna; atransceiver for processing a received signal and generating a transmitsignal; and a controller, based on a detected condition of one of thefirst antenna or second antenna, for selecting the other one of saidfirst antenna or said second antenna and coupling the transmit signal tothe selected other one of said first antenna or said second antenna.

According to second aspect, the present disclosure relates to a methodof operating a mobile communications device having a housing, a wirelesstransceiver and a plurality of antennas connected to a wirelesstransceiver. The method comprises the steps of receiving a firstreceived signal via a first antenna, receiving a second received signalvia a second antenna and generating a resultant received signal from thefirst received signal and second received signal. The resultant receivedsignal is generated using a signal transformation technique operable tomanipulate the first and second received signals.

According to a third aspect, the present disclosure relates to a methodof operating a mobile communications device having a housing and aplurality of antennas. The method comprises the steps of generating,from a raw outgoing signal (i.e., an unprocessed signal), first andsecond transformed outgoing signals for a first and second antennaaccording to a signal transformation technique responsive to at least acondition associated with the first and second antennas and transmittingthe first and second transformed outgoing signals via the first andsecond antennas.

According to a fourth aspect, the present disclosure relates to a methodof operating a mobile communication device having a housing and aplurality of antennas. The method comprises the steps of providing theplurality of antennas, determining which of the antennas are optimal foroperation of the mobile communication device and selecting the optimalantennas for operation of the mobile communication device.

According to a fifth aspect, the present disclosure relates to a mobilecommunication device comprising a plurality of antennas operable in atleast one frequency band, the antennas disposed substantially coplanarhaving varying degrees of polarity. The mobile communication device maycomprise logic structure for determining which of the antennas areoptimal for operation of the mobile communication device and logicstructure for selecting the optimal antenna for operation of the mobilecommunication device.

According to a sixth aspect, the present disclosure relates to a methodof operating a mobile communications device comprising receiving a firstsignal via a first antenna disposed on a plane; receiving a secondsignal via a second antenna disposed substantially coplanar with thefirst antenna wherein the first and second antenna have varying degreesof polarity; and generating a resultant signal from the first receivedsignal and second signal using a signal transformation techniqueoperable to manipulate the first and second received signals.

According to a seventh aspect, the present disclosure relates to amethod of operating a mobile communications device having a plurality ofcoplanar antennas having varying degrees of polarity. The methodcomprises generating, from a raw outgoing signal, first and secondtransformed outgoing signals for a first and second antenna according toa signal transformation technique responsive to at least a conditionassociated with the first and second antennas; and transmitting thefirst and second transformed outgoing signals via the first and secondantennas.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system 100 that includes amobile communication device 102 that communicates through a wirelesscommunication network. Mobile communication device 102 preferablyincludes a visual display 112, a keyboard 114, and perhaps one or moreauxiliary user interfaces (UI) 116, each of which is coupled to acontroller 106. Controller 106 is also coupled to radio frequency (RF)transceiver circuitry 108 and an antenna 110.

Typically, controller 106 is embodied as a central processing unit (CPU)which runs operating system software in a memory component (not shown).Controller 106 will normally control overall operation of mobilecommunication device 102, whereas signal processing operationsassociated with communication functions are typically performed in RFtransceiver circuitry 108. Controller 106 interfaces with device display112 to display received information, stored information, user inputs,and the like. Keyboard 114, which may be a telephone type keypad or fullalphanumeric keyboard, is normally provided for entering data forstorage in mobile communication device 102, information for transmissionto network, a telephone number to place a telephone call, commands to beexecuted on mobile communication device 102, and possibly other ordifferent user inputs.

Mobile communication device 102 sends communication signals to andreceives communication signals from the wireless network over a wirelesslink via antenna 110. Although represented by a single icon forsimplicity, antenna 110 may represent any number of separate antennas.RF transceiver circuitry 108 performs functions similar to those of abase station and a base station controller (BSC) (not shown), includingfor example modulation/demodulation and possibly encoding/decoding andencryption/decryption. It is also contemplated that RF transceivercircuitry 108 may perform certain functions in addition to thoseperformed by a BSC. It will be apparent to those skilled in art that RFtransceiver circuitry 108 will be adapted to particular wireless networkor networks in which mobile communication device 102 is intended tooperate.

Mobile communication device 102 includes a battery interface (IF) 134for receiving one or more rechargeable batteries 132. Battery 132provides electrical power to electrical circuitry in mobilecommunication device 102, and battery IF 134 provides for a mechanicaland electrical connection for battery 132. Battery IF 134 is coupled toa regulator 136 which regulates power to the device. When mobilecommunication device 102 is fully operational, an RF transmitter of RFtransceiver circuitry 108 is typically keyed or turned on only when itis sending to network, and is otherwise turned off to conserveresources. Similarly, an RF receiver of RF transceiver circuitry 108 istypically periodically turned off to conserve power until it is neededto receive signals or information (if at all) during designated timeperiods.

Mobile communication device 102 may operate using a Subscriber IdentityModule (SIM) 140 which is connected to or inserted in mobilecommunication device 102 at a SIM interface (IF) 142. SIM 140 is onetype of a conventional “smart card” used to identify an end user (orsubscriber) of mobile communication device 102 and to personalize thedevice, among other things. In one embodiment, without SIM 140, themobile communication device terminal is not fully operational forcommunication through the wireless network. By inserting SIM 140 intomobile communication device 102, an end user can have access to any andall of his/her subscribed services. SIM 140 generally includes aprocessor and memory for storing information. Since SIM 140 is coupledto SIM IF 142, it is coupled to controller 106 through communicationlines 144. In order to identify the subscriber, SIM 140 contains someuser parameters such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity(IMSI). An advantage of using SIM 140 is that end users are notnecessarily bound by any single physical mobile communication device.SIM 140 may store additional user information for the mobilecommunication device as well, including datebook (or calendar)information and recent call information.

Mobile communication device 102 may be comprised of a single unit, suchas a data communication device, a multiple-function communication devicewith data and voice communication capabilities, a personal digitalassistant (PDA) enabled for wireless communication, or a computerincorporating an internal modem. Alternatively, mobile communicationdevice 102 may be a multiple-module unit comprising a plurality ofseparate components, including but in no way limited to a computer orother device connected to a wireless modem. In particular, for example,in the mobile communication device block diagram of FIG. 1, RFtransceiver circuitry 108 and antenna 110 may be implemented as a radiomodem unit that may be inserted into a port on a laptop computer. Inthis case, the laptop computer would include display 112, keyboard 114,one or more auxiliary UIs 116, and controller 106 embodied as thecomputer's CPU. It is also contemplated that a computer or otherequipment not normally capable of wireless communication may be adaptedto connect to and effectively assume control of RF transceiver circuitry108 and antenna 110 of a single-unit device such as one of thosedescribed above. Such a mobile communication device 102 may have a moreparticular implementation as described later in relation to mobilecommunication device 202 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a detailed block diagram of a mobile communication device 202.Mobile communication device 202 is preferably a two-way communicationdevice having at least voice and advanced data communicationcapabilities, including the capability to communicate with othercomputer systems. Depending on the functionality provided by mobilecommunication device 202, it may be referred to as a data messagingdevice, a two-way pager, a cellular telephone with data messagingcapabilities, a wireless Internet appliance, or a data communicationdevice (with or without telephony capabilities). Mobile communicationdevice 202 may communicate with any one of a plurality of fixedtransceiver stations 200 within its geographic coverage area.

Mobile communication device 202 will normally incorporate acommunication subsystem 211, which includes a receiver, a transmitter,and associated components, such as one or more (preferably embedded orinternal) antenna elements and, local oscillators (LOs), and aprocessing module such as a digital signal processor (DSP) (all notshown). Communication subsystem 211 is analogous to RF transceivercircuitry 108 and antenna 110 shown in FIG. 1. As will be apparent tothose skilled in field of communications, particular design ofcommunication subsystem 211 depends on the communication network inwhich mobile communication device 202 is intended to operate.

Network access is associated with a subscriber or user of mobilecommunication device 202 and therefore mobile communication device 202may require a Subscriber Identity Module or “SIM” card 262 to beinserted in a SIM IF 264 in order to operate in the network. SIM 262includes those features described in relation to FIG. 1. Mobilecommunication device 202 is a battery-powered device so it also includesa battery IF 254 for receiving one or more rechargeable batteries 256.Such a battery 256 provides electrical power to most if not allelectrical circuitry in mobile communication device 202, and battery IF254 provides for a mechanical and electrical connection for it. Thebattery IF 254 is coupled to a regulator (not shown) which providespower V+ to all of the circuitry.

Mobile communication device 202 includes a microprocessor 238 (which isone implementation of controller 106 of FIG. 1) which controls overalloperation of mobile communication device 202. Communication functions,including at least data and voice communications, are performed throughcommunication subsystem 211. Microprocessor 238 also interacts withadditional device subsystems such as a display 222, a flash memory 224,a random access memory (RAM) 226, auxiliary input/output (I/O)subsystems 228, a serial port 230, a keyboard 232, a speaker 234, amicrophone 236, a short-range communications subsystem 240, and anyother device subsystems generally designated at 242. Some of thesubsystems shown in FIG. 2 perform communication-related functions,whereas other subsystems may provide “resident” or on-device functions.Notably, some subsystems, such as keyboard 232 and display 222, forexample, may be used for both communication-related functions, such asentering a text message for transmission over a communication network,and device-resident functions such as a calculator or task list.Operating system software used by microprocessor 238 is preferablystored in a persistent store such as flash memory 224, which mayalternatively be a read-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element(not shown). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the operatingsystem, specific device applications, or parts thereof, may betemporarily loaded into a volatile store such as RAM 226.

Microprocessor 238, in addition to its operating system functions,preferably enables execution of software applications on mobilecommunication device 202. A predetermined set of applications whichcontrol basic device operations, including at least data and voicecommunication applications, will normally be installed on mobilecommunication device 202 during its manufacture. A preferred applicationthat may be loaded onto mobile communication device 202 may be apersonal information manager (PIM) application having the ability toorganize and manage data items relating to the user such as, but notlimited to, instant messaging (IM), e-mail, calendar events, voicemails, appointments, and task items. Naturally, one or more memorystores are available on mobile communication device 202 and SIM 262 tofacilitate storage of PIM data items and other information.

The PIM application preferably has the ability to send and receive dataitems via the wireless network. In a preferred embodiment, PIM dataitems are seamlessly integrated, synchronized, and updated via thewireless network, with the mobile communication device user'scorresponding data items stored and/or associated with a host computersystem thereby creating a mirrored host computer on mobile communicationdevice 202 with respect to such items. This is especially advantageouswhere the host computer system is the mobile communication device user'soffice computer system. Additional applications may also be loaded ontomobile communication device 202 through a network of fixed transceiverstations 200, an auxiliary I/O subsystem 228, serial port 230,short-range communications subsystem 240, or any other suitablesubsystem 242, and installed by a user in RAM 226 or preferably anon-volatile store (not shown) for execution by microprocessor 238. Suchflexibility in application installation increases the functionality ofmobile communication device 202 and may provide enhanced on-devicefunctions, communication-related functions, or both. For example, securecommunication applications may enable electronic commerce functions andother such financial transactions to be performed using mobilecommunication device 202.

In a data communication mode, a received signal such as a text message,an e-mail message, or web page download will be processed bycommunication subsystem 211 and input to microprocessor 238.Microprocessor 238 will preferably further process the signal for outputto display 222, to auxiliary I/O device 228 or both as described furtherherein below with reference to FIGS. 3-7. A user of mobile communicationdevice 202 may also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, forexample, using keyboard 232 in conjunction with display 222 and possiblyauxiliary I/O device 228. Keyboard 232 is preferably a completealphanumeric keyboard and/or telephone-type keypad. These composed itemsmay be transmitted over a communication network through communicationsubsystem 211.

For voice communications, the overall operation of mobile communicationdevice 202 is substantially similar, except that the received signalswould be output to speaker 234 and signals for transmission would begenerated by microphone 236. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems,such as a voice message recording subsystem, may also be implemented onmobile communication device 202. Although voice or audio signal outputis preferably accomplished primarily through speaker 234, display 222may also be used to provide an indication of the identity of a callingparty, duration of a voice call, or other voice call relatedinformation, as some examples.

Serial port 230 in FIG. 2 is normally implemented in a personal digitalassistant (PDA)-type communication device for which synchronization witha user's desktop computer is a desirable, albeit optional, component.Serial port 230 enables a user to set preferences through an externaldevice or software application and extends the capabilities of mobilecommunication device 202 by providing for information or softwaredownloads to mobile communication device 202 other than through awireless communication network. The alternate download path may, forexample, be used to load an encryption key onto mobile communicationdevice 202 through a direct and thus reliable and trusted connection tothereby provide secure device communication.

Short-range communications subsystem 240 of FIG. is an additionaloptional component which provides for communication between mobilecommunication device 202 and different systems or devices, which neednot necessarily be similar devices. For example, subsystem 240 mayinclude an infrared device and associated circuits and components, or aBluetooth™ communication module to provide for communication withsimilarly-enabled systems and devices. Bluetooth™ is a registeredtrademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc.

In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, mobile communicationdevice 202 is a multi-tasking handheld wireless communications deviceconfigured for sending and receiving data items and for making andreceiving voice calls. To provide a user-friendly environment to controlthe operation of mobile communication device 202, an operating systemresident on communication device 202 (not shown) provides a GUI having amain screen and a plurality of sub-screens navigable from the mainscreen.

FIG. 3 depicts an embodiment of a mobile communications device 302 inaccordance with the present disclosure. The mobile communications device302 illustratively includes a housing 304, and a wireless transceiver306 disposed within the housing 304. The mobile communications device302 also illustratively includes an antenna assembly 308 for cooperatingwith the wireless transceiver 306 to communicate over the wirelessnetwork described above. More particularly, the mobile communicationsdevice 302 may be a PDA-type device in which the wireless transceiver306 and antenna assembly 308 cooperate to communicate various types ofdata, such as voice data, video data, text (e.g., email) data, Internetdata, etc. over the wireless network. More specifically, the antennaassembly 308 may be used for placing telephone calls, in which case themobile communication device 302 may generally take the form or shape ofa typical cellular telephone or a cellular-enabled PDA device, forexample.

The antenna assembly 308 includes a plurality of antennas, preferably apair of an antennas 310, 312 as illustrated. The pair of antennas 310,312 are positioned in side-by-side relation preferably in the upperportion of the housing 304. A diversity controller 314 is connected tothe wireless transceiver 306 to preferentially operate with the pair ofantennas 310, 312 to optimize reception based upon the environmentwithin which the mobile communication device 302 is disposed.

The housing 304 preferably has opposing parallel front and back surfacesand the plurality of antennas 310, 312 are arranged in side-by-siderelation extending in a plane parallel to the front and back surfaces. Adisplay, a user input device and other components (not shown) may becarried by the housing 304 as discussed above. The transceiver 306 andthe plurality of antennas 310, 312 are operable to communicate withfixed transceiver stations 200 as part of a cellular wireless network ora LAN wireless network. In certain embodiments, the wireless LAN mayoperate in accordance with various wireless LAN standards, such as IEEE802.11/802.11b, Bluetooth™ or Zigbee™ for example, as will also beappreciated by those skilled in the art.

As discussed above, a mobile communication device will commonly useinternal, rather than external, antennas for wireless communication. Thereception and transmission quality of an internal antenna in a mobilecommunications device can, and generally will, be affected by theenvironment surrounding the device. For example, antenna performance canbe negatively affected when a user's hand or other object covers orblocks all or part of the antenna. Accordingly, an internal antenna isoften designed to compromise between two or more environments likely tobe encountered in use, rather then being optimized for any oneparticular environment.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a mobile communication device 402 having ahousing 404 in which two sensors 406, 408 are disposed. Each of sensors406, 408 is associated with a corresponding antenna 410, 412. Theantennas 410, 412 may have the same or a different form. In oneembodiment, the two sensors 406, 408 may be used to determine whetherone or both antennas are covered up by a user. In certain embodiments,one of antennas 410, 412 may be selected as a primary antenna.

Turning additionally to FIG. 5, further details of an embodiment of theantenna assembly 308 of FIG. 3 will be described. The antenna assembly308 illustratively includes the first antenna 310 coupled to thetransceiver 306 at a feed point 500 and having a first shape. Theantenna assembly 308 also illustratively includes the second antenna 312coupled to the wireless transceiver 306 at a feed point 502. It will benoted that second antenna 312 has a shape different from the shape offirst antenna 310.

The polarizations of the first and second antennas 310, 312 may beorthogonal to one another in order to provide maximum polarizationdiversity, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. Ofcourse, other arrangements may be possible in other embodiments.

The first and second antennas 310, 312 may advantageously be implementedas planar, printed radiative elements on a circuit board 504. Thecircuit board may be mounted on the back side of the mobilecommunication device 302 (i.e., the side pointing away from the userwhen holding the device to place a telephone call) or at the top of themobile communication device (i.e., adjacent the end of the device withthe ear speaker). First and second antennas 310, 312 are shown withhatching to provide greater clarity of illustration.

First antenna 310 illustratively includes a feed branch 506 includingthe first feed point 500, a second feed point 508 which is connected toground, and a feed section 510 connected between the first and secondfeed points 500, 508. First antenna 310 further illustratively includesa loop branch 512 having a first end 514 coupled to the feed section 510adjacent the first feed point 500. A second end 516 of the loop branch512 is spaced apart from the feed section 510 by a gap 518, and thesecond end is adjacent the second feed point 508. A loop-back section520 extends between the first and second ends 514, 516. Morespecifically, the loop-back section 520 generally loops in a clockwisedirection from the first end 514 to the second end 516, as shown. Firstantenna 310 thus generally defines a dual feed point, open loopconfiguration. This configuration advantageously provides increasedspace savings (i.e., reduced antenna footprint), as will be appreciatedby those skilled in the art.

The second antenna 312 also illustratively includes a feed branchdefined by the feed point 502 and a feed section 522. Further, a loopbranch having a first end 524 coupled to the feed section 522, a secondend 526 adjacent the feed branch and separated therefrom by a gap 528,and a loop-back section 530 extending between the first and second ends.The loop-back section 530 illustratively includes an arcuate portion532. The second antenna 312 thus defines a single feed point, open loopelement configuration. Again, this provides space savings, and, thus,reduced antenna footprint.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, various designparameters (e.g., widths, lengths, loop shapes, notches, etc.) may bealtered in the first and second antennas 310, 312 to provide differentsignal characteristics. By way of example, the overall dimensions of thefirst and second antennas 310, 312 may be 2 to 3 cm high by 2 to 3 cmwide for each element, although other dimensions may also be used. Theantennas 310, 312 preferably operate over a number of frequency bandsand ranges, a wireless frequency range of about 2.4 to 2.5 GHz, forexample, although other frequencies are also possible. Moreover, thecoupling between the first and second antennas 310, 312 may also beadjusted to provide desired performance characteristics. By way ofexample, a preferred coupling distance or gap between the first andsecond antennas 310, 312 may be in a range of about 3 to 7 mm, althoughother gap distances may also be used as appropriate for differentembodiments.

Because the first and second antennas 310, 312 have different shapes,they will also have different gain patterns, and thus advantageouslyprovide pattern diversity, as will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art. Moreover, the first and second antennas 310, 312 are preferablytuned to have substantially equal main lobe gain for enhancedperformance. Of course, it will be appreciated that other antennaelement shapes or types may be used in addition to those noted above.Electromagnetic shielding may be placed over one or both sides of thecircuit board 504 as necessary in certain applications, as will also beappreciated by those skilled in the art.

One aspect of the present disclosure may include controlling thewireless transceiver 306 to preferentially operate with the pair ofantennas 310, 312 based upon a relative position of the housing 304 withrespect to a hand of a human user. Again, controlling the wirelesstransceiver 306 may include preferentially weighting transmit signals orpreferentially switching one antenna on and one antenna off for transmitsignals. Additional aspects will be appreciated by those skilled in theart from the foregoing description.

Turning now to FIGS. 6A and 6B, an embodiment of the pair of antennas310, 312 and associated diversity controller 314 of mobile communicationdevice 302 will be described with respect to ergonomic aspects of devicehandling by users. Firstly, by using multiple antennas 310, 312, mobilecommunication device 302 can select the best antenna, or weighted orotherwise processed combination, based upon the environment surroundingthe device. The environment generally includes, but is not limited to,portions of the device user's body, including the user's hands.Accordingly, the FIGS. 6A and 6B depict situations in which the antennareception is affected by a user's hand 600 covering a portion of thehousing 304, though similar situations arise when, for example, aportion of the housing 304 is covered by a user's head or clothing.

The antennas 310, 312 are designed to provide an overall high antennasystem efficiency for the common user holding positions. The figuresrespectively illustrate a user holding the device 302 in a right hand600 and a left hand 602. As can be seen, a user's hand 600, 602 may bedirectly adjacent one of antennas 310, 312, thereby affecting theperformance of one or both of antennas 310, 312. Accordingly, theassociated diversity controller 314 will preferentially operate the pairof antennas 310, 312 to provide optimized signal transmission/reception.In FIG. 6A, the user's right hand 600 is partially blocking antenna 312,while leaving antenna 310 unobstructed. In FIG. 6B, the user's left hand602 is partially blocking antenna 310, while leaving antenna 312unobstructed. In either case, either of the unobstructed antennas maynevertheless have their signals affected by the proximity of the user'shand. Conversely, either of the partially obstructed antennas maynevertheless retain the capability to transmit or receive some level ofsignal, though reduced in strength or quality. In certain embodiments,diversity controller 314 may employ one or more partially obstructedantennas. In certain embodiments, diversity controller 314 may performsome form of signal transformation or conditioning in order tocompensate for the effect of the obstruction or other interference.

The diversity controller 314 (shown in FIG. 3) processes incoming andoutgoing signals in order to optimize the use of antennas 310, 312.Diversity controller 314 may, for example, preferentially weighttransmit signals, or switch at least one antenna on and at least oneantenna off, for example, based upon received signal strength. Otherprocessing methods will be known to those of skill in the art. Theplurality of antennas 310, 312 may be operable on a common frequency,have different polarizations, have different conductive patterns or havedifferent frequencies for transmit and receive, depending on theparticular application.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a method for selecting between multipleantennas. Although the flowchart of FIG. 7 relates to a dual antennaarrangement, it is to be understood that a similar method may beemployed for a device having more than two antennas. Process flow beginsat block 702. In decision block 704, the diversity controller inquireswhether antenna 1 is obstructed. This may be determined, for example, bya sensor corresponding to antenna 1, or by the existence of very weaksignal reception at antenna 1. If antenna 1 is not obstructed, thediversity controller selects antenna 1 for communication (block 706). Ifantenna 1 is obstructed, the diversity controller selects antenna 2 forcommunication (block 708).

FIG. 8A depicts one embodiment of a method for optimizing antenna usagein a receive mode. In block 800, diversity controller 314 receives afirst received signal via a first antenna. In block 802, diversitycontroller 314 receives a second received signal via a second antenna.In block 804, diversity controller 314 generates a resultant receivedsignal from the first received signal and second received signal using asignal transformation technique operable to manipulate the first andsecond received signals. In certain embodiments, the signaltransformation technique may constitute amplification of one or both ofthe received signals. In certain embodiments, the signal transformationtechnique may constitute attenuation of one or both of the receivedsignals. Other signal processing techniques, such as filtering and phaseshifting techniques, may be employed in particular applications. Incertain embodiments, the signal transformation technique is selected oroptimized based on the characteristics of one or more of the receivedsignals.

FIG. 8B depicts one embodiment of a method for optimizing antenna usagein a transmit mode. In block 806, the diversity controller 314generates, from a raw outgoing signal, first and second transformedoutgoing signals for a first and second antenna. The transformedoutgoing signals are generated according to a signal transformationtechnique responsive to at least one condition associated with the firstand second antennas. The condition may relate, for example, to therelative strength of received signals or the state of certain sensors.Signal transformation may include one or more of a number of signalprocessing techniques, such as amplification, attenuation, filtering andphase shifting techniques, as examples. In block 808, the diversitycontroller transmits the first and second transformed outgoing signalsvia the first and second antennas.

FIG. 9 depicts one embodiment of a method for optimizing antennaselection in either a receive or a transmit mode. In block 900, aplurality of antennas are provided. In block 902, diversity controller314 determines which antennas are optimal for operation of the mobilecommunication device. As above, determination may be based on, forexample, the relative strength of received signals or the state ofcertain sensors. In block 904, the optimal antennas are selected foroperation of the mobile communication device.

According to one embodiment, a method of operating a mobilecommunications device may include both receiving and transmittingsignals via two or more antennas. Initially, signals are received viaeach of the antennas and analyzed. Based on the analysis, a receivedsignal transformation algorithm and outgoing signal transformationalgorithm is selected or generated for each of the antennas. A resultantreceived signal can then be generated from the received signals usingthe received signal transformation algorithms, and a set of transformedoutgoing signals can be generated from a raw outgoing signal accordingto the outgoing signal transformation algorithms. The transformedoutgoing signals can then be transmitted via the antennas associatedtherewith.

Although the foregoing disclosure has been described in relation tocertain particular applications and embodiments, those of skill in theart will recognize that other variations are contemplated and within thespirit of the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile communication device comprising: a firstantenna operable to receive a first received signal, said first antennabeing disposed substantially in a plane and having a first polarity; asecond antenna operable to receive a second received signal, said secondantenna being disposed substantially coplanar with said first antennaand having a second polarity substantially orthogonal to said firstpolarity; a transceiver operably connected to said first antenna and tosaid second antenna; and a controller operably connected to a memoryhaving instructions that when executed by said controller generates,based on determining that one of the first received signal and thesecond received signal is weak, a resultant received signal from aremaining signal of the first received signal and the second receivedsignal.
 2. The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein said firstantenna and said second antenna have locations at opposed ends of themobile communication device.
 3. The mobile communication device of claim2 wherein said locations provide for high antenna system efficiency fora holding position adjacent said first antenna.
 4. The mobilecommunication device of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication deviceis a data communication device.
 5. The mobile communication device ofclaim 1 wherein the mobile communication device is a multifunctioncommunication device having voice and data communication capabilities.6. The mobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the mobilecommunication device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).
 7. Themobile communication device of claim 1 wherein the mobile communicationdevice is a computer.
 8. The mobile communication device of claim 7wherein the computer is a laptop computer.
 9. A method of operating amobile communications device having a housing, a wireless transceiverand a plurality of antennas connected to the wireless transceiver, themethod comprising: determining a strength of a first signal received viaa first antenna disposed substantially in a plane and having a firstpolarity; determining a strength of a second signal received via asecond antenna disposed substantially co-planar with the first antennaand having a second polarity substantially orthogonal to the firstpolarity; and based on determining that one of the first signal and thesecond signal is weak, generating a resultant received signal from aremaining signal of the first and second signals.
 10. The method ofclaim 9 wherein a signal transformation technique is operable tomanipulate the remaining signal to generate the resultant receivedsignal.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein the signal transformationtechnique is operable to attenuate the remaining signal to generate theresultant received signal.
 12. The method of claim 10 wherein the signaltransformation technique is operable to amplify the remaining signal togenerate the resultant received signal.
 13. The method of claim 9wherein the resultant received signal is identical to one of the firstand second received signals.